1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a flow channel or throat for the transfer of molten glass from the production zone to the shaping zone in connection with the manufacture of flat glass.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the glassmaking industry, glass is continuously produced in a fired furnace or an electric furnace melting vitrifiable materials, and is then transferred by means of at least one throat to the glass shaping zone, i.e., a float device or a rolling device in the case of flat glass, or shaping machines in the case of hollow ware.
In known continuous glass manufacturing devices, the throat starts in a conditioning compartment downstream of the compartment in which the vitrifiable materials are melted and generally downstream of a refining compartment, which is itself positioned downstream of the compartment carrying out the actual melting. The sole function of the throat is to transfer the already conditioned and homogenized glass to the shaping station.
Such a device is, e.g., described in FR-A-2 550 523. In this device, the conditioning compartment has sufficiently large cross-sectional dimensions to function with a glass back flow and with a flow rate for the latter close to that of the glass melting rate. This glass back flow forms part of a recirculation belt used for homogenizing the glass. This conditioning system with a belt for recirculation and supply of the shaping station is not entirely satisfactory.